1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for automatically upgrading the firmware of Internet video phones and a method of managing the system and, more particularly, to a system for automatically upgrading the firmware of video phones over the Internet and a method of managing the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional process of upgrading firmware. As shown in FIG. 1, Internet video phones 1 generally contain menus for upgrading firmware. When a new distribution edition is released, a technical support center 2 informs sites, at which Internet video phones 1 are installed, of the necessity of an upgrade by calling the sites, and requests users to upgrade the firmware of the Internet video phones 1 while informing the users of the address of a Trivial File Transfer Protocol or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (TFTP/HTTP) server 3. Alternatively, a manager asks the users about the addresses of the Internet video phones 1, makes accesses via Telnet and performs upgrades, or employees personally visit the sites.
As described above, the prior art is inconvenient in that the employees must visit the sites at which the Internet video phones 1 are installed, connect a serial cable to equipment and perform work within a console window, or makes accesses via Telnet and perform work. Furthermore, there is inconvenience in that the users must periodically check the version up of firmware when the users directly upgrade the firmware.
Accordingly, to eliminate such inconvenience and achieve version compatibility of the Internet video phones 1, a system and method for informing users of the release of a new distribution edition whenever the new distribution edition is released, like Windows update, are required.